Reading Teacher Writes

The last few days of school are always chaotic, and today we had another two-hour delay due to below-zero temperatures. It was nice to see students this afternoon visiting the library to trade books before break. I’m still sharing the holiday books I wrote about last week. Today’s featured title was Hanukkah Upside Down, by Elissa Brent Weissman, with pictures by Omer Hoffmann (Abrams Books, 2023). Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate!

Physical Books: I received a box of fabulous books over the weekend from Publisher Spotlight (Thank you, Tracy!). I opened one immediately, as the title caught my eye…The Memory Tree: A Holiday Grief Book, by Joanna Rowland and illustrated by Thea Baker (Beaming Books, 2025).

I know when we say “holidays” and “grief” in the same sentence that it is like opening a can of bad-tasting worms, but The Memory Tree acknowledges the sadness and brings a sense of peace with a family story of remembering and honoring the loss of loved ones. The main character is a young girl with a big family, but because the text is vague, the family could be any family and the main character could be any person, and (most importantly), the loss of “a loved one” could be anyone, too. This is the best perspective for the book.

I read the book and thought of many of my own loved ones. The action of creating ornaments to make a “memory tree” right after I set up my own family Christmas tree full of homemade ornaments made the book even more reflective and significant. When I read back matter, I cried when I found that the inspiration for this book was based on a true story of the loss of a young loved one. Thanks to the author’s writing, the story will live forever, which is the best gift for dealing with grief. “…a person passes twice, once when they are physically no longer on earth and once again when their name is uttered for the last time.” 

Whether or not you have lost loved ones, this holiday book is special and should be shared.

I’ll get to the rest of these by the end of the week, but they look fun, right? (Right!) Mr. Search and Mrs. Find will be an awesome addition to the school library. Look at these pages! (By Csil and published by Post Wave, 2023)

How to Save a Library is a chapter book. Of course, I’ll love it! (I’m a librarian. LOL) From the author of The Umbrella House, Colleen Nelson (Pajama Press, 2025). If You Go Walking, by Erin Alladin, illustrated by Miki Sato is a nonfiction picture book with wonderful, textured collage-created pages that are bright and enjoyable to contemplate.

NetGalley: Yes! I was approved to read Kwame Alexander’s upcoming chapter book, The Mighty Macy, illustrated by Kitt Thomas. This one will be published in February, 2026, and I cannot wait!

Libro.fm: I didn’t listen this past weekend (I didn’t go anywhere in the snow and cold!) I need to finish Busted by Dan Gemeinhart.

It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a weekly blog hop hosted by Kellee and Ricki of Unleashing Readers. The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

Head over to Unleashing Readers to join the link-up and share your reading!